Georgia Democrat, Jon Ossoff, a Carpetbagger

Posted By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

Well, he’s sort of a carpetbagger.

In the U.S. Constitution the geographic requirement is that representatives for the U.S. House live in the State they represent.  So, technically, they don’t have to live in the district they are running for to represent.  However, from a common sense point of view, it makes total sense that the candidate be a resident of the district they are vying to represent.

A Georgia congressional district just north of Atlanta for the House of Representatives is holding a special election today for the seat left vacant by Tom Price (R), who was confirmed as U.S. secretary of health and human services. Prior to his cabinet appointment, Price represented the 6th District since 2005.  If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in today’s election, the top two winners will face off in a run-off election, at a later date. Eighteen candidates filed to run in the race: 11 Republicans, five Democrats, and two independents.  While traditionally a republican district, the fear is that the high number of GOP candidates may dilute the republican vote enough to give Ossoff today the necessary 50% to win it all.  The leading republican, Karen Handel, is expected to win the run-off if the election gets that far.

Ossoff, however, has met with a bit of controversy on election day, as the truth about his residency has gone viral.  He does not live in the district he wants to represent.  He dismissed concerns regarding the fact that he doesn’t live in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, for which he’s running.

“I grew up in this district; I grew up in this community — it’s my home. My family is still there,” Ossoff said during an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

Ossoff currently lives just outside Georgia’s 6th Congressional District with his girlfriend, while she is attending medical school. He said that he has been transparent about the fact that he doesn’t live in the district and pledged to move back to the district as soon as his girlfriend finishes school.